Chocolate meets coconut

Coconut: You either love it or you hate it.

I happen to love it. I don’t understand those people who tell me they hate it. But the reporter in me wants to get to the bottom of it: Did you always hate it, or did a certain experience in your life turn you against coconut? Are there any coconutty foods that you enjoy (Almond Joy candy bars, Girl Scout samoas, pina coladas)? Is it the texture or the flavor that turns you off?

I can ask all the questions I want, or I can give up trying to change anyone’s mind and simply fill my mouth with coconut macaroons.

I happened to have a bag of dried, unsweetened coconut in my pantry and, since we have a tropical-themed snack day scheduled to brighten up the newsroom tomorrow, I figured coconut macaroons would fit the bill. And since a simple coconut macaroon seems so plain, I figured dipping them in chocolate wouldn’t hurt. These are nice because they aren’t too sweet (like macaroons tend to be). 

Chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut


½ cup granulated sugar


2 egg whites, beaten


1 tsp. vanilla extract


A pinch of salt


1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli)


1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine coconut, sugar, egg whites, vanilla and salt, and stir until the coconut is evenly coated.

Use your hands to form tight, ping-pong sized balls. Place each macaroon on baking sheet. You’ll have about 18 macaroons.

Bake in oven about 18 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Place chocolate chips and oil in microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, then heat for another 30 seconds and stir again. Repeat until chocolate is smooth.

Dip each macaroon in the chocolate, covering about half to ¾ of the macaroon. Replace dipped macaroon on baking sheet.

Refrigerate the macaroons for about 20 minutes until the chocolate has hardened. Remove from refrigerator and store at room temperature, in airtight container.  

Makes 18 macaroons.

Cream puffs suitable for company

I was having one of those nights when I wasn’t about to leave the house for anything - not bowling, not a movie, not dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant. Instead, I invited Adam and Katie over for a game of Scrabble.

They came over after dinner, with a bottle of wine. I wanted to offer them an impressive dessert, something I could make quickly without much of a hullabaloo. I had a small carton of heavy whipping cream, and I remembered how surprisingly easy it is to make a batch of cream puffs.

Mimi, my French grandma, used to make cream puffs that were so airy you thought they might levitate off the plate. They were so delicate, so buttery, that I assumed (even as a small child), that they took some very particular skills. But there really are only a few steps; most of the time is spent watching them puff up in the oven. If you have heavy whipping cream and a sprinkle of sugar, you have something to fill them with.

I don’t have my grandmother’s recipe, and I’m kicking myself about that. I looked around for a suitable one and found what’s below, from the Wisconsin State Fair of all places. The cream puffs have been served at the fair since 1924. I chose this recipe because it was the quickest and the easiest. By the time Adam and Katie showed up, I had the butter and water on the stove.

The Wisconsin State Fair Cream Puff

1 cup water

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 tsp. iodized salt

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

4 eggs

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. milk

2 cups whipping cream, whipped with a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of instant coffee granules.

Sifted powdered sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour one very large or two small baking sheets, or line with parchment paper.

Pour water into heavy saucepan. Cut butter into small pieces and add to water. Add salt. Place saucepan over medium-low heat so butter melts before water boils. Bring water just to boil.

Remove pan from heat and add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until dough forms into a ball and bottom of pan is filmed with flour. Let dough rest 5 minutes.

Add whole eggs, beating in one egg at a time. Dough should be stiff but smooth.

Immediately drop 1/4 cupfuls of dough 3 inches apart on baking sheet.

Combine egg yolk and milk in a small bowl. Brush each puff with glaze mixture, taking care not to let liquid drip onto pan.

Bake 35 minutes, until puffed, golden brown and firm.

Cool puffs on wire racks, pricking each with a cake tester or toothpick to allow steam to escape, or leave them in a turned-off oven with the door propped open for about an hour, until firm. (If baked pastry is filled before cool and firm, it will be soggy and may collapse.) Baked puffs should have hollow, moist interiors and crisp outer shells that are lightly browned.

Cut off tops, spoon with whipped cream (use pastry bag with star tip or scoop the whipped cream with a large spoon). Replace tops of the puffs and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 12 cream puffs. Recipe by David Schmidt, Director of the Wisconsin Bakers Association.

*I made a box of instant pistachio pudding to fill the cream puffs with. We ate one of each - a pudding-filled puff and a whipped cream-filled puff. We all preferred the whipped cream mixture, which was lighter; the pudding seemed to weigh everything down. If you don’t like coffee or don’t have instant granules, simply whip the cream and sugar. Oh, and we drizzled the top with Hershey’s syrup, but I forgot the powdered sugar!

**If you are ever in Chicago, eat at Mia Francesca's in Chicago and order the profiteroles, which are filled with pistachio ice cream (that's what inspired me to make the pistachio pudding). It's the most heavenly dessert you will ever eat.